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Monday, January 19, 2015

bigot – a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially: one who regards or treats the members of a group with hatred and intolerance. —Merriam-Webster.com. Accessed January 14, 2015.

By definition, the writers of Glee, a comedy that airs on the Fox television network, and many liberal progressives, are bigots.

Glee is about a group of high school misfits from Lima, Ohio who find a home in the school's decidedly un-cool vocal music group, the glee club. The writers have assembled an outrageous mashup of archetypes, including: the diva Rachel, a Jewish American princess with two gay dads; the football star with heart, Finn, who joins the glee club to the chagrin of his teammates; Noah Puckerman ("Puck"), the juvenile delinquent; the wheelchair-bound Artie; the gay teens Kurt and Blaine; the strait-laced cheerleader Quinn; the African-American diva (and Rachel's frequent rival) Mercedes; and lesbian lovers Brittany and Santana.

With dozens of awards over six seasons (including Emmy and Golden Globe awards), often brilliant rapid-fire comedy, touching story lines, and terrific musical numbers that have spawned large album and digital download sales, a 3D concert movie and a live tour, Glee is as entertaining as it is controversial. Its teen and adult characters are hyper-sexualized, with gay, lesbian, transgender, and transvestite behavior (oh, and I almost forgot: hetero promiscuity) out and celebrated.

The not-unexpected irony of this very Hollywood production (filmed in L.A., not Ohio) is that one group of kids at the fictional McKinley High School is not treated kindly or even tolerated very much: conservatives. Conservative students are portrayed in ridiculous straw-man caricatures in several episodes.

Quinn, president of the Celibacy Club whose Glenn Beck-watching parents get lampooned in Season 1, ironically becomes pregnant. In the current season, the following scene pretty much sums up the liberal agenda of the show (the young adult main cast are all McKinley alumni now in the series storyline):

Puck walks in with Mercedes, Tina, Quinn and Sam to the Tea Party Patriot Club, calling them teabaggers. They put down muffins for them, Quinn explaining about their life in McKinley, saying how the Celibacy Club and the God Squad were popular. Mercedes asks if they're Christians, to which they reply they all are. Quinn once again says she only hung out with people just like her, Tina saying she [Quinn] changed for the better, after getting pregnant by Puck.

A member reveals that the TPPC is the most popular group in McKinley. Tina replies how horrible it is and questions what happens to America. The leader starts to reply, Mercedes listening to him, saying they’ve had the worst economic depression in history, stating that allowing equality in sexes and different ethnicities, has brought it upon them. Mercedes, looking horrified, repulsed by them, states how ignorant, homophobic and discriminating they are, to which the alumni agree. Puck, Tina and Mercedes walk out. Quinn walks up to them, taking away the muffins. Sam states how Quinn had sex with a Latina lesbian, from which he says he learnt [sic] in glee club, bumping into Quinn, causing her to laugh, as the TPPC go into chaos.

In classic Revenge of the Nerdsfashion, Glee humorously turns the lunchroom tables on the popular cliques at McKinley High School: the jocks, the cheerleaders, the popular kids, but it reserves a special vitriol for conservative Christians. Liberal bigotry starts as a cold slushy to the face on Glee, and graduates to misogynistic, ad hominem attacks on Sarah Palin and Nikki Haley. Rather than telling a story about bringing people together, Glee and its liberal bedfellows just use far-right bigotry to justfy far-left bigotry.

Monday, December 22, 2014

North Star Liberty dedicates this poem to all active duty, Reserve, and National Guard soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and Coast Guard who stand upon a wall and say, "Nothing's going to hurt you tonight, not on my watch." You protect our freedom so we don't have to. God bless you all this Christmas season, and always.

Twas the night before Christmas, he lived all alone,
In a one bedroom house made of plaster and stone.

I had come down the chimney, with presents to give
and to see just who in this home did live.

As I looked all about, a strange sight I did see,
no tinsel, no presents, not even a tree.
No stocking by the fire, just boots filled with sand.
On the wall hung pictures of a far distant land.

With medals and badges, awards of all kind,
a sobering thought soon came to my mind.
For this house was different, unlike any I'd seen.
This was the home of a U.S. Marine.

I'd heard stories about them, I had to see more,
so I walked down the hall and pushed open the door.
And there he lay sleeping, silent, alone,
Curled up on the floor in his one-bedroom home.

He seemed so gentle, his face so serene,
Not how I pictured a U.S. Marine.
Was this the hero, of whom I’d just read?
Curled up in his poncho, a floor for his bed?

His head was clean-shaven, his weathered face tan.
I soon understood, this was more than a man.
For I realized the families that I saw that night,
owed their lives to these men, who were willing to fight.

Soon around the Nation, the children would play,
And grown-ups would celebrate on a bright Christmas day.
They all enjoyed freedom, each month and all year,
because of Marines like this one lying here.

I couldn’t help wonder how many lay alone,
on a cold Christmas Eve, in a land far from home.
Just the very thought brought a tear to my eye.
I dropped to my knees and I started to cry.

He must have awoken, for I heard a rough voice,
"Santa, don't cry, this life is my choice
I fight for freedom, I don't ask for more.
My life is my God, my country, my Corps."

With that he rolled over, drifted off into sleep,
I couldn't control it, I continued to weep.

I watched him for hours, so silent and still.
I noticed he shivered from the cold night's chill.
So I took off my jacket, the one made of red,
and covered this Marine from his toes to his head.
Then I put on his T-shirt of scarlet and gold,
with an eagle, globe and anchor emblazoned so bold.
And although it barely fit me, I began to swell with pride,
and for one shining moment, I was Marine Corps deep inside.

I didn't want to leave him so quiet in the night,
this guardian of honor so willing to fight.
But half asleep he rolled over, and in a voice clean and pure,
said "Carry on, Santa, it's Christmas Day, all secure."
One look at my watch and I knew he was right,
Merry Christmas my friend, Semper Fi and goodnight.

Monday, November 03, 2014

As Scott, my old political mentor and impetus for this blog, always used to tell me, "It's all about the gavels." Put another way, "the majority rules."

The partisan split in the 134-seat Minnesota House of Representatives is currently 73 DFL to 61 Republican. This makes the DFL the "majority party" by twelve members. Because an even split would be 67 members each, the Republican Party is seven seats from gaining majority status in the upcoming election.

The majority party gets the better offices, establishes the session rules, appoints the committee chairs, sets the agendas, schedules the hearings, determines which bills get heard in committee and how fast they pass out of committee (if at all), decides which bills are heard on the floor, and generally determines the political realities at the Legislature.

It's much more fun to be in the majority. The majority party gets the gavels. When one party has the majority in the House, Senate, and Governor's office, it's called "single-party rule." The DFL is the single-party ruler now, which has given Minnesota the MNSure debacle, a $77 million Senate Legislative Office Building, the controversial $1.6 billion special-interest Southwest LRT train, crumbling roads and bridges, and a persistent education achievement gap.

When vetting candidates, local parties must weigh "electability" against ideology. Both are important, but if you don't have the gavels, as Scott would say, your caucus gets to spend much of the session keeping its agenda on life support until the next election.

Our candidate for House in District 44B, Ryan Rutzick, is the most "electable" candidate we have endorsed in years. Rutzick is young, energetic, photogenic, and charismatic. He can work a parade crowd and deliver a stump speech like few I have ever seen in my ten-plus years of campaign volunteering.

Ryan Rutzick (source: campaign)

Rutzick is running for a rare open seat, which is being vacated by the retiring four-term Rep. John Benson (DFL). The conservative Republicans on the "B-side" of 44 have been trying to elect a conservative Republican to unseat the incumbent ever since Republican Rep. Ron Abrams, a moderate, left the House for the Hennepin County bench in 2006.

Various political organizations and pundits have included 44B as a competitive and therefore crucial election. If seven seats flip to the "R" side of the aisle, the House Republican caucus will be the majority caucus. (The Senate is not up for election this year, and the governor's race is being called a matter of turnout by both parties.)

Judging by his endorsements, Ryan Rutzick is a moderate Republican, in the mold of moderates like Abrams and others who were swept out of office in the conservative wave of the early 2000s:

Senate District 44 Republicans

Rep. Erik Paulsen, U.S. Congressman (MN-3), who previously represented Eden Prairie in the Minnesota House

Former U.S. Congressman Jim Ramstad

Tom Horner, former Independence Party candidate for governor

Arne Carlson, former Republican Governor of Minnesota

Star Tribune editorial board

Minnesota Chamber of Commerce

TwinWest Chamber of Commerce

National Federation of Independent Businesses

Minnesota Medical Association MEDPAC

Rutzick's campaign has also attracted independent expenditures from the state GOP (not a given) and the Minnesota Jobs Coalition.

To put the brakes on the runaway train of liberal one-party rule in Saint Paul, first we have to get elected.

In this district, a pragmatic problem-solver like Rutzick may be what the House Republicans need to get elected, get the majority, get the gavels.

Friday, October 24, 2014

With about a week-and-a-half to go to Election Day, both parties are hoping to amp up voter enthusiasm and get out the vote. The Democrats are trotting out every prominent member of their party, except for the President, to stump for the DFL. Republicans are also working to increase voter turnout, always a challenge in a non-Presidential election year.

To all those enthusiastic party faithful whom I met at our precinct caucus, I have just one last request.

Do something.

There are still many folks who dutifully filled the seats at caucus and convention whom I have not yet seen at a parade or phone bank shift. I have not seen their by-lines in the letters to the editor. I am not seeing them in Facebook photos of candidate events. Granted, I was not able to attend my Senate District gala this year, so maybe they were all there and I just missed them.

If everyone who attended their precinct caucus would just work one get-out-the-vote phone bank shift, stood on a corner waving a candidate sign for one hour on election day, wrote one letter to the editor, posted or shared one party or candidate post on their Facebook page, brought one friend to the polls, if everyone did something, it could tip a close election the "right" way.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Republicans face an uphill battle in a state like Minnesota, where words matter more than deeds. As long as the majority of voters like what they hear, that's who gets their vote.

The KSTP/SurveyUSA Poll results announced at the beginning of October revealed an interesting dichotomy among the voters questioned by the survey:

52% of respondents disapprove of the performance of Minnesota's government health insurance exchange, MNSure, which in the wake of scandal and mismanagement has made healthcare less affordable and resulted in less choice for consumers.

66% of respondents disapprove of the new $77 million Senate Legislative Office Building (SLOB), passed by the DFL-controlled legislature in a classic dead-of-night, end-of-session, buried-in-a-tax-bill gambit.

61% of respondents rate Minnesota's roads, highways, and bridges as "Fair" or "Poor," compared to 38% who rate them "Excellent" or "Good." But at least we have trains and bike paths that are useless for commerce or for hauling the fishing boat up to Brainerd.

The survey didn't need to ask whether Minnesotans are satisfied or dissatisfied with the educational achievement gap in the school districts with the highest per-pupil state funding (Minneapolis and Saint Paul).

And now for the bad news for Republicans:

Do you approve or disapprove of the job Mark Dayton is doing as Governor?

53% Approve
37% Disapprove
10% Not Sure

Minnesotans elected a state auditor (twice) without a background in accounting or auditing, a governor who was "unaware" of certain key provisions in major legislation until after he signed them into law, and a United States Senator who votes with his party 97% of the time.

There is a saying, "I hear what you say, but I believe what you do." On Election Day, many Minnesota voters seem to be saying, "Hear no evil," or perhaps they are too enamored with bread and circuses to care.

There was a glimmer of hope for Republican candidate for governor, Jeff Johnson, in a more recent KSTP/SurveyUSA poll. Johnson's support among independent voters has increased, with Gov. Dayton's lead in that demographic now in the single digits. Independents are by definition less ideological than the party faithful, which should favor the more pragmatic, results-oriented candidate. If Republicans can get out the vote, that may be just enough.

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Jeff Johnson needs to steer the focus of the K-12 education conversation away from "cutting funding" to improving outcomes.

The Minneapolis and Saint Paul school districts receive the most money per pupil, thanks to Minnesota's highly political school funding "formula," yet the Gopher State's achievement gap remains among the highest in the country. It doesn't matter much how Representative Johnson voted on this or that education finance bill back in the day. Why? Because Minnesota funds schools, instead of each child.

For decades, the cards at the Capitol have been stacked in favor of the teacher's union and big city school districts. Education Minnesota has the slick TV ads, a huge permanent presence in the Education Building at the State Fair, and a forward operating base across the street from the Capitol. Make no mistake, in spite of the cheerful public relations and your fondness for your child's teacher, the union exists to act in the best interests of its members.

Johnson's visit this week to the Global Academy public charter school in Columbia Heights highlighted how kids can benefit when academics take precedence over politics. Among the school's challenges:

98% of students are immigrants themselves or children of immigrants

92% of students receive free or reduced-price lunches

74% of students are non-white

10 different languages are spoken by student body

In 2008, 88% of students were classified ESL (English as a second language)

In spite of these challenges:

In 2014, just 46% of students are classified ESL, due to its students becoming proficient in English

Global Academy students score higher than the state average (of all students regardless of race or income) on all three subjects tested (reading, math and science)

On average, Global Academy students score 30-40 points higher on state standardized tests than peer students in traditional district public schools

In 2014, Global Academy students ranked #1 in reading on the Star Tribune “Beating the Odds” list (highest proficiency among metro-area schools with at least 85% poverty)

Global Academy ranked #6 in math in the Star Tribune list

Charter schools, even though they are still public schools, are anathema to the education establishment. With outcomes like this, don't you wonder why?

When Republicans focus on excellent education outcomes (or lack thereof in the case of those who put the "L" in the DFL), they can win. In a contest over who can outspend the other on cradle-to-grave government education programs, Republicans don't have a school prayer.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Lowering standards for teachers and academics will not close the nation's widest achievement gap and give Minnesota and our kids a bright future. Put Minnesota's students first, not the teachers' union. Vote Jeff Johnson for Governor and Ryan Rutzick for Representative in Minnesota House District 44B.

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

“The stability of a republican form of government depending mainly upon the intelligence of the people, it is the duty of the legislature to establish a general and uniform system of public schools.” —Constitution of the State of Minnesota, Article XIII, Sec. 1

When the DFL puts the interests of the teachers' union above the needs of Minnesota's public school students, we get headlines like this, year after year:

Don't remember hearing about this? It may be because the state Department of Education released their annual report of the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments standardized testing on August 26, when Minnesotans were either at the lake or enjoying the unofficial last week of summer at the Minnesota State Fair.

By doubling the number of standardized tests that middle and high school students will be required to take, Gov. Dayton and the DFL legislature have ensured that “paralysis by analysis” will preserve Minnesota's achievement gap between white and minority students for another generation.

In contrast, union interests are being well-served by the majority party in Saint Paul:

Democrats protect union members when they oppose introducing innovative programs like Teach for America into low-performing public schools.

Gov. Dayton put union interests above high teaching standards when he vetoed a bill that would have required new teachers to pass a basic skills test before teaching in a classroom.

When he was a Minnesota legislator, Republican candidate for governor Jeff Johnson voted to increase K-12 funding, although some would define voting for a smaller increase than was requested as “voting to decrease funding.” Governor Johnson would advocate for genuine education reforms that would make Minnesota's students, especially those who are unfairly stuck in the gap, the top priority again.

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Figures of Soviet soldiers at the base of a Soviet Army monument transformed into superheroes in Sofia, Bulgaria.

“Well, Doctor, what have we got, a Republic or a Monarchy?”“A Republic, if you can keep it.” —Benjamin Franklin (attributed)

On this thirteenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the United States — on United Airlines Flight 93, the World Trade Center in New York City, and The Pentagon in Washington, D.C. — we remember those who were murdered by those who hated America. We should also understand that there are still those with a deadly hatred for this country and all for which it stands (see the documentary America: Imagine a World Without Her,and its companion book by Dinesh D'Souza).

But we should also remind ourselves that there are so many of us in the United States and around the world who still believe in and want to preserve all that is good about the U.S.A.

This startling and oddly reassuring image showed up recently in a newsfeed from, of all places, the Moscow Times. I tweeted it almost right away.

President Obama said, “I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism, and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism.” With all due respect, Mr. President, if every country is exceptional, no country is exceptional. Perhaps that was your point.

That Bulgarian graffiti artists would transform a Soviet military monument into a monument to American superheroes (and Santa Claus and is that Ronald McDonald??) is remarkable on multiple levels. People from other countries often understand American exceptionalism better than U.S. citizens who take their country's freedoms and opportunities for granted.

Photograph by Dorothea Lange, Oakland, California, 3/13/42, for the War Relocation Authority. University of California collection.

Japanese Americans of my parents' generation who happened to live on the West Coast in 1942 suffered terrible racism and were unjustly incarcerated in camps for years. It was illegal for those born in Japan and other Asian nations to become naturalized U.S. citizens until 1952. Yet many of them enlisted in the U.S. military, fought with valor, and remained in the U.S. to help raise the Baby Boom generation.

Why? Around the turn of the twentieth century, their parents immigrated to this country, with no hope for a better future in Japan, many homeless, rising to the middle class in a generation. They believed in American ideals, some dying on the battlefield defending those ideals, even when America sometimes did not live up to them. In short, they were Americans.

Family friends of ours fled Castro's Cuba during the 1960s. They often wonder what would happen if the United States fundamentally changes from its founding principles of freedom. “Where would we go?” they ask.

Fly the flag, petition the government with your grievances, thank a military veteran, say the Pledge of Allegiance, write a letter to the editor, teach your children why they should know the Constitution. Their future, and our country's future, depends on it. It's our country — if we can keep it.

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